Sweden is now a single 'home rental' on Airbnb

Sweden has gone and listed the entire country on the short-term vacation rental site Airbnb, in a PR stunt that aims to highlight its natural heritage. The marketing campaign is based on the notion of allemansratten – or the freedom to roam – a principle protected by Swedish law that gives all people the right to roam free in Swedish nature.

Photo credit: idesignarch

Under the law, only private gardens and lands under cultivation are off-limits to walking, cycling or camping.

In a clever play on allemansratten, the country’s official tourism office is using Airbnb as a platform to promote their mountaintops, lakes, meadows, forests and lakes by listing bucolic spots on the site.

The whole country is pitched as one big home rental, with 100,000 “infinity pools”, lakeside “relaxation areas”, clifftop terraces with panoramic floor-to-ceiling views and bathrooms au naturel, designed after “minimalist Swedish style”.

And unlike vacation rentals, there’s no booking or money required.

“Sweden has no Eiffel Towers. No Niagara Falls or Big Bens. Not even a little Sphinx. Sweden has something else — the freedom to roam. This is our monument,” reads Visit Sweden’s opening salvo.

Listings on the site include bucolic and escapist shots of Sweden’s wilderness, like a cosy glade in Beech Forest in southern Sweden, and Enafors, where “rugged nature blends with glittering water and rocky cliffs”.

While Airbnb has struck collaborations with airlines in the past, their partnership with Visit Sweden, the official tourism agency, is a first for the brand.

The move also hints at Airbnb’s increasingly ambitious strategy to become a one-stop travel destination. Along with vacation rentals, the brand also launched Trips last year, offering a curated list of local travel experiences for guests.

Experiences include everything from Samurai Swordplay workshops, truffle hunting in Tuscany and exploring the grime music scene in London. — AFP Relaxnew

Photo credit: AFP